


The Tender Trap

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:25:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neither had planned on the phone ringing.  That seemed to be when it rang the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tender Trap

The cell phone on the nightstand buzzed and Erin picked it up, looking at the display. Well this was a little bit of a surprise.

“Hello.”

“Hi Mom, how are you?”

“I'm good, MK. How are you?”

It had been about a week since Erin talked to her daughter. MK was 24 now, getting her PhD in Political Science from Tulane in New Orleans. Their relationship changed when Erin divorced her husband. She had never been as close to Mary Kate as she had been to Nora and Ted. This had always been the subject of intense curiosity and scrutiny for her.

Erin knew she wasn’t perfect, despite what others thought or believed she thought. She did pride herself on being a good mother to her three children. There were so many accomplishments Erin Strauss could brag about; she never grew tired of talking about her children. But MK was a Daddy’s girl and she’d been very disappointed when her mother left him. Her disappointment grew to something else when she realized there was another man in Erin’s life.

While Nora and Ted were supportive of her relationship with Dave, MK couldn’t even pretend to like him. Once she convinced herself of something, it was as good as fact. And Mary Kate was convinced her mother had been secretly fooling around with Dave Rossi while she was married to her father. She never confronted Erin head on about the so-called affair but it was always on the fringes. Erin had even thought about confronting her but she knew it would only end badly.

They were both quite headstrong; both hated to be wrong. Still, for as much as she loved Dave, Erin didn’t want to lose her daughter. It was why she always appreciated these phone calls. She always called in return. She had to live her life as she saw fit and juggle that with being a good mother. Yes, her children were grown up now but she was still their mom.

“I'm fine. I just wanted to call and see how things are. You know?”

“Things are busy as usual.” Erin replied. “There's actually a chance in hell of actually getting the weekend off but I don’t know if…”

“What? You don’t know if what? Mom, are you there?”

“Yes, I'm sorry sweetheart. Um…I just don’t know if it’s possible. The paperwork is starting to pile up. Annual budget meetings are taking up a lot of time. That time of year when I rob Peter to pay Paul and might have to sell the kitchen sink. They barely give us enough to get by.”

“You always make miracles.” MK replied.

“I sometimes use my own money to buy office supplies.”

“That sucks.”

“It most certainly does suck.”

Erin smiled as Dave came out of the bathroom. He was dressed only in a towel and that meant he was ready for some fun. She was only dressed in his tee shirt and her panties. Neither had planned on the phone ringing. That seemed to be when it rang the most.

“So how is New Orleans?” Erin asked.

Dave chastised himself when the frown developed on his face. He was angry at himself for not liking Mary Kate Strauss. She was a young girl, in her twenties, and loved her parents. She didn’t seem to like him very much but Dave wasn’t the vengeful type. The few times he met her she did her best to be respectful.

Her best wasn’t that great. MK, as everyone lovingly called her, preferred to remain silent and give him the evil eye. Erin was always so apologetic when she left but Dave took it in stride. At least he thought he took it in stride.

“Hold on honey. Hold on just a minute.” Erin put the phone on mute. “Where are you going?”

“To get a drink.” Dave replied.

“In your towel, David?”

“No one’s going to see me.”

“You don’t have to leave the room because I'm on the phone with Mary Kate.”

“I wasn’t…” he sighed. Dave didn’t like lying to her. “I'm just going to get a drink, baby. You can have a cigarette and when you get off the phone we can have a little special time.”

Erin smiled, turning the phone back on.

“I'm sorry honey. I was asking you how New Orleans is.”

“Is Agent Rossi there?” MK asked. Her tone was upset and disapproving. Her mother needed to know how she felt.

“He spends nights here, yes.”

“Is he there, Mom?” MK pressed.

“Yes, he's here. I'm allowed to have company at my house.”

“It’s your house with Daddy.”

“Your father lives in Fairfax now.” Erin replied.

“Mom…”

“I do not want to fight with you, Mary Kate. I never want to fight with you. Your father and I were in love with each other once, and now we’re not.”

“Daddy still loves you.” MK replied.

“Daddy is married to someone else.”

The new Mrs. Eli Strauss was barely 40 and bore an uncanny resemblance to the former Mrs. Eli Strauss at that age. Every man had a type.

“That’s only because you left him!”

“I don’t want to have this conversation right now, I really don’t. Why do we always end up here lately? Sweetheart, please.”

“Ted told me that Dave Rossi wants to marry you. Is that true?”

“What?” Erin was taken aback by that statement. She was also reaching the end of her rope with MK’s tone. She spoke as if the event would cause the hell mouth to open and the four horsemen of the apocalypse would rain down on them with locusts.

“Are you engaged to him, Mom?”

“I would’ve told you if I were engaged.” Erin looked at Dave walking back into the room. He seemed to stop cold in the middle of the carpet when she said it. He had a glass of scotch. “I'm not and I have no why Ted would say something like that.”

“Well you can't marry him.” MK said in a matter of fact tone. “You just cannot.”

“MK, I am the mother and you are the daughter. You don’t tell me what I can and cannot do.”

“I Google’d David Rossi. He’s been married three times, but I suspect you already know that. You don’t want to be some guy’s wife #4. You’re better than that Mom, I thought you knew that. He’s not good enough for you.”

“Mary Katherine Camille Strauss, this conversation is over. I love you, you know that, but we’re not going there. I really don’t want to keep having this argument over and over again. You won't even let yourself get to know Dave. We’ve been together for three years and we’re happy. I'm happy. You should be happy for me.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, Mom.”

“I believe that, sweetheart. I should get going; it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. I’ll call you soon and we’ll talk again.”

“Are you really happy?” MK asked. There was something in her voice that Erin couldn’t place. She sounded sad but she also sounded envious.

“Yes, I am happy. I want you to be happy because you're my daughter and I love you. I want you to live a great life and squeeze every bit of everything you want out of it. You owe it to yourself. Don’t live for me, or Daddy MK, live for you.”

“Goodnight, Mom.”

“Goodnight. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Erin turned off her phone and looked at Dave. He was still standing in the middle of the floor. He’d gone from holding his drink to sipping it.

“I think you should share some of that drink.” She said.

Dave came and sat on the bed. He handed over the glass, watching Erin take a healthy sip before handing it back. He slid over some, putting her legs across his lap and kissing her mouth.

“Mmm, you and scotch go very well together.” he whispered.

“Do you want to get married?” Erin asked.

“What?”

“OK, look, I don’t want to freak you out. You know that I would never pressure you about something like that but…”

“Where did this line of questioning come from?”

“Well this may be the first time I'm bringing up marriage but you’ve mentioned it a few times. David, what's going on?”

“Nothing is going on, Erin. What's going on with you?”

“Mary Kate says that Ted told her that we were getting married. Did you talk to him about that? I'm feeling confused and I don’t like feeling confused. I need you to talk to me.”

Dave nodded, taking a deep breath. He wasn’t overly fond of Mary Kate and this was why. It seemed like every time she and her mother had a conversation, Erin was unhappy. He didn’t like it when Erin was unhappy.

“I never talked to Ted about marriage. I have no idea what MK is talking about.”

“You never mentioned it? Not once; not even offhandedly.”

“I don’t do things offhandedly, Erin. I would especially not do something like that offhandedly. I'm serious.”

“Why would she say that?” Erin asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Dave sighed. He knew almost any chance of a romantic interlude this evening was over. Gently lifting her legs, he got up from the bed and went to the dresser for some pajamas. Erin took his glass from the nightstand and had another sip of scotch.

“Don’t get dressed.” She said.

“Don’t get dressed?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Why aren’t I getting dressed?” Dave asked.

“Because you're coming to bed with me, David Rossi.” Erin slipped under the covers. “That is if you want to.”

A grin on his face, Dave let the towel drop. He came and slipped under the covers too. He pulled Erin into his arms and her tee shirt over her head. When they kissed, she moaned against him and Dave held her closer.

“I love you.” He whispered against her lips.

“I'm sorry I…”

“Shh,” Dave kissed her again. “Just tell me you love me, baby.”

“I love you.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course I mean it.” Erin moved onto her back, pulling Dave on top of her. “You mean the world to me, David Rossi. I don’t know how it happened, why it happened, but it happened.”

“It’s a good thing?”

“It’s a very good thing. Can we stop talking now?”

“Well…”

“What?” Erin laughed some, reaching down to stroke him. She knew there were some things that Dave just couldn’t resist.

“Erin…” Dave took her hand. He slid his fingers through hers, pulling her hand to his lips. “What if I did want to get married?”

“What?”

“We’ve been together three years now. I'm not going anywhere and I would hope you're not either.”

“So you want to get married?” she asked.

“Would you be opposed to that?”

“Answer my question first, David? Do _you_ want to get married or do you feel like _I_ want to get married?”

“I have a ring.”

“You what?”

Erin sat up in the bed. That made Dave move over and she pulled up the sheet to cover her naked body.

“I have a ring, Erin.” He said again.

“Where?”

“It’s at home in my safe.”

“You bought me an engagement ring?” she asked.

“What kind of schmuck proposes without an engagement ring? It’s beautiful if I do say so myself.”

“Oh my God.” Erin ran her hand over her face. She turned on her side and looked at Dave. His face was serious but that glint of adorable mischief never left his eyes. “I never thought we’d have this conversation.”

“It never once crossed your mind?” he asked.

“No, and that’s the truth. I love you, David, you have to know that.”

“I know that.”

“I was married for 25 years. I'm free now and I like being free. At the same time, I love being with you. I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to be with you just because I may not be interested in getting married.”

“Ever?”

“Ever what?” Erin asked.

“You may not be interested in ever getting married?” Dave countered.

“I don't know. Marriage isn’t even on my mind.”

“Tell me what's on your mind?”

“Making love.” She replied.

“I know that baby, but I meant a little beyond the next hour or two.”

“Oh,” Erin laughed some. “Sorry.”

“It’s OK.”

“I guess I've been in the process of not thinking too far ahead for three years now. I just love you and want to be with you. I worry too much about losing you when silly bureaucratic shit comes between us. When you come home from slaying the demons I just want to be there. That’s what on my mind, David, the two of us.”

“So you're happy with things just as they are?” Dave asked.

“Well…”

“What?”

“I miss you when you go home.” Erin said.

“Ditto.” He leaned to kiss her.

“So let’s consolidate.”

“Erin Strauss, are you suggesting that we shack up? Oh my God, what would the straight-laced people say?”

“I don't know and I don’t care.” She replied.

“Your place or mine?”

“Yours. It’s time to let go of this house. I don't need to carry the baggage around that comes with it anymore. We can't grow here, David…I can't grow here.”

“What about Ted?”

“Your place is spacious, you have five bedrooms. I don’t think you would mind having him for school holidays and random weekends, would you?”

“No, I like your son a lot. I have a dog.”

“I know that.” Erin laughed, pulling him to her again as she moved onto her back. “I like your dog.”

“Do you like him enough to live with him full time?”

“Probably. Anyway, I can take care of him when you're gone. You won't have to pay Pete anymore. Mudgie and I can keep each other company.”

“You're amazing.” Dave caressed her face.

“Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” She replied.

“Nope, you're amazing everyday.”

“Show me how amazing you think I am, David Rossi.”

She didn’t want to talk anymore. He got the message loud and clear. A part of Dave was relieved the marriage conversation was over. He was glad that Erin spoke her mind and that they didn’t end up making a mistake thinking they were doing something to make the other happy. Maybe it wouldn’t always be that way. Maybe one day she would want to marry him.

He was surprised by how much that didn’t freak him out. They’d already been together longer than his third marriage. They weren't young and impulsive anymore. They both knew what they wanted and how to make it right for them.

Erin wanted him close when he was far away and vice-versa. The idea of coming home to her at night, every night, made him happy. Holding her as she slept was something he relished. They could do this. They could do it their way and still live happily ever after.

***

  



End file.
